Tick Removal

Pest control professionals are often asked how to remove ticks from the
skin of people and pets. The removal of attached ticks is addressed in
this article. If you have health related concerns you should contact your
doctor or other professional that is trained in the medical field.
If you have a home or lawn that is infested with ticks, go to the tick
control article. For details on tick biology, identification, life
cycle and habits read the article on tick information.
There are also descriptions of hard
ticks and soft
ticks. Pets can be protected from tick bites with products such as Preventic
Tick Collar for dogs, Frontline Topspot and Frontline
Spray for dogs and cats.

There are many opinions, facts and fables to sort through when faced with
the problem of tick bites or attached ticks. Your best bet is to keep it
simple and steer clear of solutions not suggested or approved by doctors or
veterinarians.
An attached tick can easily transmit diseases to from one animal to another as
it feeds on its victim. The disease that concerns most people is Lyme
Disease.
Most people want to remove attached ticks to reduce the
risks of diseases that can be transmitted by the pest as well as chances of an
infection from the foreign object imbedded in the skin.

Most health professionals agree that smothering ticks with petroleum
jelly, finger nail polish or other such substances do little to reduce chances
of infection or contracting disease. A tick that is coated or smothered
still has enough oxygen to live long enough to continue its feeding. It is
during this feeding that transmission of organisms takes place. More
drastic measures such as burning the tick or killing it with a sharp object can
actually increase chances of more fluids being released into the tick's host.

Attached ticks can be removed using small tipped
tweezers. Grasping the tick as close to the skin as possible will give you
a better chance of removing the tick whole. Ticks can excrete substances
that help the pest adhere to its host and they also have mouthparts that help
them to hang on their host as they feed.
Holding the tick with your tweezers, slowly but firmly pull the tick away from
the skin. If you have health concerns of any kind you can release the tick
into a container of alcohol. The container should be labeled with any
information that could be helpful to medical professionals. This
information can include date, location or other related facts including the
victim's name, age, etc.
Once you have removed the tick from skin and the tick has been disposed of or
placed in a container, wash your hands as well as the tweezers or any other
object the tick (or fluids from the tick) may have contacted. Objects used
to remove or dispose of ticks as well as the sight of the tick bite should be
disinfected.
The purpose of this article is to help remove a tick that has attached itself to
the skin of a person or pet. Medical questions should be directed to a
medical professional. If a person or pet develops any suspicious symptoms
or behavior, contact a medical professional. Pest management professionals
are trained in the prevention or control of pests - not matters of health of
people or pets.
We often receive queries concerning dogs, cats, children and adults that have
been bitten by ticks, fleas, spiders, snakes, chiggers and other
creatures. If you have any such question you should contact your doctor,
veterinarian or other professional that is trained to handle such health related
matters.
If you are interested in products of any kind that are advertised as tools for
tick removal, check with your family doctor or veterinarian. Health
professionals will know which products have been proven to be safe or effective.